noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The profile of a body of water flowing over an obstruction in a vertical drop.
2. 2
   Either of the two parts of a double cone.
3. 3
   A sheet-like mass of rock that has been folded over adjacent strata.

   "The generation of an Alpine mountain range is a matter of piling on the nappes."

4. 4
   Geological nappe whose underside is not in contact with the overflow structure and is at ambient atmospheric pressure.
5. 5
   The ability of a sauce or other relatively thick liquid to coat food, the back of a spoon, etc.

Verb

1. 1
   To coat (a food) with liquid.

   "to nappe a leg of lamb with glaze"

Synonyms

All synonyms

cascadecataractfallforceniagarasault

Example

More examples

"The generation of an Alpine mountain range is a matter of piling on the nappes."

Etymology

From French nappe. Doublet of map, mop, and nape.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.